“Oh no, here we go again…”
The Home Team are a Seattle quartet with a sound rooted in pop punk, but with a genre fluidity that incorporates elements of post-hardcore, metal, R&B, and funk. The band’s diverse sound was exemplified by their 2021 album Slow Bloom, which managed to incorporate guest features from Yvette Young as well as members of Arch Enemy and Veil of Maya on the same release, while still making these dramatic stylistic shifts feel completely natural.
Fresh off of vocalist Brian Butcher’s run as touring vocalist for Issues during their farewell shows, The Home Team have reunited with producers and former Issues members Skyler Acord and Ty Acord (AKA Lophiile) for their third full-length The Crucible of Life.
The Acord brothers’ clear, polished production is a perfect fit for The Home Team’s genre-shifting dynamics. The mixing throughout adeptly balances the crunching guitars and drums with the consistent presence of electronic flourishes, as Butcher’s vocals sit at the forefront.
Butcher’s vocals themselves strike a confident balance between classic pop punk emoting and more R&B-influenced runs and harmonies. Opening track “Turn You Off” sets the stage for what to expect, introducing itself with distorted guitars and dynamic vocals before settling down into a chill bass-driven groove in the verses. These push-and-pull dynamics are a consistent theme throughout the album’s runtime.
And at the album’s best, the incorporation of diverse genre influences and other instruments like horn sections leads to a truly eclectic listening experience. “Love & Co” features progressive instrumental band Intervals, and cleverly combines soaring prog guitar work with a healthy dose of funk in one of the catchiest tracks the band has recorded to date.
However, The Crucible of Life overall has fewer big swings into new territory than on Slow Bloom, which sometimes leads to the album feeling a bit repetitive, particularly when Butcher sings in a similar range on many of the album’s tracks. He is undeniably a strong vocalist and hook writer, but the songs where the instrumentation stays in familiar ground tend to fall into typical pop punk, which is slightly underwhelming when the band has proven themselves capable of more.
Despite this, The Crucible of Life remains a consistently enjoyable listen. The Home Team remain some of the sharpest hook writers in the newer wave of pop punk/pop rock bands, and it’s easy to imagine songs from this album taking their popularity to new heights. One can only hope they continue to expand upon the most interesting and creative parts of their sound with whatever they release next.
7/10
The Crucible of Life is out July 12th on Thriller Records, and you can pre-order it here.